


New Traditions

by natashasbanner



Series: 30 Days of Bruce/Natasha Fluff [25]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-21 21:38:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16584665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: Nat and Bruce make their own holiday traditions.





	New Traditions

**Author's Note:**

> Because this challenge was originally posted in December, I changed day twenty five to First Christmas together. I hope you all enjoy this in November instead :D

Bruce came around the corner into the kitchen as Natasha poured her second cup of coffee that morning. He was bundled up in his thick winter coat, his boots in one hand and her coat in the other. 

“Going somewhere?” she asked, taking a sip from her mug. 

“We are,” he said, a barely contained grin on his face. 

“Oh? Where are we going?” 

Natasha set her mug on the counter and stepped over to take her coat from him. 

He bit his bottom lip as she slid the coat on and stepped closer when she zipped it up, holding out a knit hat with a ridiculous pom pom on top. It matched the one on his own head, she noticed. 

“It’s a surprise,” Bruce told her, securing the thick material over her ears. 

“Should I be concerned?” 

He shook his head and laughed. “No, not at all. Come on.” 

He took her hand and pulled her toward the garage door. She felt a little thrill, following him to the garage, his giddy excitement rubbing off on her. He opened the passenger side door for her and waited until she was comfortably in the before walking around to get in the driver’s seat. 

“What’s got you all excited?” Not that she minded. It was a refreshing after watching him mope around the house for days. 

He was bored without his classes to teach and spent the first few days after the start of his winter break wandering like a ghost through the house, unsure what to do with himself. Seeing his mood trend upward was refreshing even if Natasha wasn’t particularly fond of surprises. 

“Just enjoy the ride,” he said, patting her thigh reassuringly.

Natasha smirked and propped her elbow up on the door. “You know how I feel about your driving.” 

She watched him roll his eyes as he backed out of the garage. 

“In the spirit of the season I’m going to let that slide.” 

Natasha raised her eyebrows, her smirk turning mischievous. 

“In that case,” she trailed off and Bruce pinned her with a mock glare. 

“That wasn’t an open invitation.” 

Natasha put her hands up in surrender, and settled back against the seat to watch him concentrate on the road. She hadn’t expected them to be so clear after the amount of snow that had been dumped on them the day before and into the night. Her smile came easily at the memory of them curled up together in front of the fireplace while the snow piled up quietly outside. 

It wasn’t hard to figure out where they were going after getting on the road, but Natasha just settled in for the ride. 

Her suspicions were confirmed when she started seeing signs for a “Choose and cut your own” Christmas tree farm. She looked at Bruce, but he was pointedly watching the road, his cheesy grin from earlier creeping onto his face. 

He pulled into the parking lot of the tree farm and turned to her with a huge grin that Natasha found terribly endearing. 

“Surprise,” he said, shifting in his seat to face her fully. 

Natasha looked around the lot. There were families just arriving, kids bouncing around their parents. A couple a few spaces over was having a hell of a time trying to get a huge tree on top of their SUV. There were strings of lights across the main building and the whole place gave off a warmth that Natasha couldn’t name. 

“I talked to Barton,” Bruce continued in her silence. “He said you’ve gone with them to pick out a tree with them almost every year, and I uh figured we could continue that. If you want.” 

He started muttering under his breath, wringing his hands nervously. Natasha reached out to pull his hands apart and hold it over her heart between both her own. 

“Let’s go find our tree,” she said quietly, trying to keep her voice even. 

Bruce’s responding smile was soft and she kissed his knuckles before letting his hand go. His excitement returned, Bruce all but jumped out of the car popped the trunk. Natasha took her time putting her gloves on and wrapping a scarf around her neck. She grabbed the ones Bruce left behind and met him at the back of the car where he had a saw in hand. 

“You forget something?” she said, reaching up to fix his hat over his ears. 

“It’s not that cold,” he said with a shrug, his words coming out in little puffs of fog. 

Natasha tilted her head and raised her eyebrows at him. “Humor me.” 

“Alright.”

He held out his hand and Natasha passed him a pair of gloves. She held the saw while he hastily slid his hands into the gloves and handed it back when he was done. Bruce ducked his head and she looped the scarf around his neck. 

“Let’s go.” He took her hand and she intertwined their fingers as he lead the way into the lot of trees. 

She followed him silently, watching his eyes roam over the rows of different kind of pines until he stopped at whatever row he’d been looking for. 

“What do you think will fit best in the living room?” He asked, dropping her hand to start down the narrower row. 

Natasha walked down on the other side of the trees, keeping step with him while also looking over the trees herself. 

“Depends on where you want to put it,” she said and shrugged. 

She hadn’t given it much thought. It wasn’t like she celebrated unless she spent the holidays with the Bartons and she didn’t expect Bruce to care this much. She’d bought him a few gift but she just expected to exchange them without much fuss over a tree and decorations. 

They passed a row of taller trees with wide branches. 

“One of these.” 

Bruce turned and backtracked to where she’d stopped. 

“It would look nice along the back doors.” 

The doors that lead to their back porch were all glass. There was a plug for the lights on the small stretch of wall that separated the sets of doors. The snow looked pretty through them, and adding a tree would only add to the cozy picture. 

“You’re right,” Bruce said and started down that row. “Let’s find ours.” 

Natasha couldn’t help but smile and followed after him. She watched him look over each of them with a critical eye before passing them up. He did the same thing for every tree until they were almost at the end. 

“Are you going to pick one or what?” 

“Patience,” he said. 

There were only a few left in the row and Natasha spotted the taller of the three first. It’s branches were wide and it stood perfectly straight. It was perfect and it was going to be theirs, Natasha was sure. 

“Hey Bruce,” she said. 

He turned and she pointed to the tree she wanted. “I want that one.” 

A grin spread over his face. “Good choice.” 

He lifted the saw and bent down to get a look at the trunk. It didn’t look too bad and they’d be able to carry it out of there themselves. He stood back up and held out the saw to her.

“Would you like to do the honors?” 

Natasha smirked and held out her hand. “Sure.” 

She knelt down on the ground, the snow soaking through her jeans. She positioned the saw against the trunk and got about an inch and a half into it. Her arm started to hurt after a while and she stood up to pass off the saw to Bruce.  

“Your turn, Doc.” 

He took it and it only took about ten more minutes before the tree tilted sideways and fell into the row on the other side. When he stood up he had a triumphant smirk. She rolled her eyes and took the saw from him. 

“Cheater,” she grumbled while he picked up the tree and shifted it so the top was pointed at her. 

“A little help?” 

Natasha rolled her eyes playfully and found an opening in the branches to grab the top part of the trunk. 

“We don’t have any decorations,” she pointed out as they slowly made their way back to the barn to pay for their tree. 

“I took care of it,” he assured her and picked up the bottom. 

“Is that what’s under the blanket in the garage?” 

“Yes.” 

Natasha chuckled and trudged to the snow, relieved when they finally reached the barn. The attendants took over from there and wrapped the tree while Bruce paid for it. They got it rigged up on top of the car and they were ready to go. Natasha got in the car and turned up the heat as soon as Bruce started the car. 

“I thought you liked the cold?” he teased. 

She huffed and rubbed her hands together to warm them up. 

“I like the idea of the cold,” she corrected him. 

Bruce smiled and pulled out of the parking lot. It started to snow on their way home and it was a slow trip. Natasha started drifting off about halfway there and only woke up when Bruce tapped her shoulder when they were parked in the driveway. 

“We’re home.” 

Natasha blinked a few times and sat up in her seat. 

“Let’s get the tree inside and I’ll make some cocoa,” he said and turned the car off. 

She nodded and got out of the car. Together they untied the ropes holding the tree to the roof and slid it onto the ground. Bruce leaned it up against the car and tossed her the keys. Natasha jogged up the front stairs and opened the front door. 

She turned to help him carry it inside, but he was already making his way up the path to the porch. Natasha stepped out of his way and held the door open for him. Once he was in the house she closed the door with a long sigh. 

“I could have helped you,” she complained, following him into the living room. 

“I got it,” he grunted out and leaned against the wall beside the couch. “I’ll be right back.” 

He disappeared into the garage and came back with a live tree base. He set it down between the porch doors and turned to her with raised eyebrows. 

“Here?” 

Natasha nodded. “Perfect.” 

He smiled and picked up the tree and eased it into the base. He took a few steps backward to stand beside her and admire the tree. 

“You picked a good one.” 

“I know,” she said with a smirk and nudged him with her elbow. “I was promised hot cocoa.” 

A thought occurred to her suddenly. 

“You wanted me to pick out the tree the whole time, didn’t you?” 

He ducked his head and scuffed his boot against the floor. “Guilty.” 

“Clever.” 

“I just wanted to start our own tradition,” he admitted. 

Natasha smiled. “Let’s see the decorations you bought.” 

“I thought you wanted cocoa?” 

“That’ll be our tradition,” she said. “Hot chocolate and an afternoon decorating our tree. Sounds like the start of a pretty good tradition to me.” 

Bruce grinned and started for the garage again. He stopped suddenly at the door and turned back to her. She raised an eyebrow as he walked back over to her. 

“Did you forget something?” she asked when he stopped in front of her. 

“I did.” 

He brought his hands up to cradle her cheeks and pressed a searing kiss to her lips. Natasha smiled against his mouth and pulled back first. 

“Merry Christmas?” she asked when he pulled away. 

“Something like that.” 


End file.
